NEW: Cornyn And Tillis Cave To Trump

Todd Blanche cleared a major hurdle in his bid to become the nation’s next attorney general Tuesday after winning over two Republican holdouts and advancing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The panel voted to move Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate after Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina backed his confirmation, ending a standoff over a controversial Justice Department agreement.

The pair had refused to support Blanche until the Department of Justice formally eliminated its proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and narrowed language in an Internal Revenue Service settlement involving President Donald Trump and his family.

After receiving written assurances from the DOJ, Cornyn and Tillis announced Monday they would vote to advance the nomination.

“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement. “Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share.”

“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” the senators continued.

Blanche said the agreement followed weeks of discussions with lawmakers and said his office addressed every outstanding concern.

“My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions,” Blanche wrote on X. “We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement. The Department always welcomes and appreciates productive engagement with all members of Congress.”

Tillis admits Trump is weaponizing the DOJ during his speech announcing he’ll vote for Todd Blanche: “Maybe it’s a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one … I’m going to support Mr Blanche’s nomination” pic.twitter.com/i51SrSCsyV

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2026

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The support from Cornyn and Tillis proved critical, with Democrats on the committee expected to oppose Blanche’s nomination. The confirmation fight now moves to the full Senate.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska had not publicly committed to supporting Blanche on the Senate floor.

The committee had originally planned to vote last week, but Chairman Chuck Grassley delayed the meeting after Cornyn and Tillis raised objections over the DOJ agreement.

Before the written order was issued, Cornyn said no agreement had been reached with the department, while Tillis made clear he would only support Blanche if both issues were resolved.

“The key there is exactly what I’ve said. That this agreement, the 1776 fund, needs to go away, and the language with respect to audits needs to be very tightly tailored,” Tillis said. “It doesn’t include anybody but the parties of the agreement, and it can only be retroactive. You do that, and I’m prepared to support.”

Grassley praised the breakthrough ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

“[The Judiciary Committee] is ready to vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination Tuesday [at] 9AM,” Grassley said Monday on X. “Blanche is right pick for [attorney general] and our country is safer [with] him leading DOJ. [Thanks President] Trump [and] Blanche [and] Sens Cornyn & Tillis for working [through the weekend with] me to get the votes to advance this well qualified nominee.”

During his July 15 confirmation hearing, Cornyn pressed Blanche on whether the anti-weaponization fund could be revived in the future. Blanche replied that the program was “dead,” though he acknowledged at the time there was no written agreement formally ending it.

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